Shuttle car



April 27, 1943. J. D. RUSSELL SHUTTLE CAR Filed March 14, 1942 4Sheets-Sheet 1 l d s m n m M M m T. D A n m J IN N mn z a v0 Q Q m mApril 27, 1943. .1. D. RUSSELL. 3 3

SHUTTLE CAR Filed March 14, 1942 4 sneis-snet 2 INVENTOR. John D.Russell ATTORNEY April 27, 1943. J7 D. RU$ SELL4 7 SHUTTLE CAR FiledMarch 14, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 7

IN VEN TOR. John D. Russell Fi 9 ATJJORNEY 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY J. D. RUSSELL SHUTTLE CAR Filed March 14, 1942 John D. RussellI M v I" April 27, 1943 Patented Apr. 2?, 1%43 as P OFFICE SHUTTEE CAR.

Application March 14, 1942, Serial No. 434,711

11 Claims. (Cl. 214-43) This invention relates t vehicles of theselfunloading type having a conveyor bottom and more particularly toimprovements in the construction of such a vehicle whereby the dischargeend of the conveyor can be elevated to deliver the material in thevehicle at various heights.

Self-propelled, self-unloading vehicles commonly known as shuttle carsare used extensively in underground mining operations to trans port themineral being mined from the working face or producing area of the mineto a transfer station where the car is unloaded and the mineral beingdelivered is discharged into an elerating conveyor which in turndelivers it onto a belt conveyor or into a train of mine cars or thelike forming the primary haulage system of the mine.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a vehicle for use inmine chambers having a single unloading conveyor passing over the bottomthereof, the discharge end of which is ca.-'

pable of being readily raised and lowered whereby the vehicle can unloaddirectly into a mine car or onto a belt conveyor or whatevertransporting mediumjorms the primary haulage of the mine.

Another object is to provide a self-unloading vehicle capable ofdischarging its load directly onto a belt conveyor, 1;. train of minecars, or the like and thereby eliminate the necessity for anintermediate conveyor between the vehicle and the main transportingdevice being loaded therefrom.

Another object is to provide a shuttle car having a single unloadingconveyor provided with an adjustable discharge section which forms apart of the load-carrying body during the loading and transportingfunctions of the car and consequently will not reduce the load carryingcapacity of the car.

A further object is to provide an adjustable discharge section for theconveyor of a shuttle car in which means are' provided for preventingthe spillage of material from the conveyor during unloading of the carregardless of the vertical adjustment of theconveyor.

A further object is to provide a shuttle car having an unloadingconveyor provided with an adjustable discharge section which is not onlysturdily constructed, simple to manufacture, but easily and readilyoperated and adjusted.

A further object is to provide novel means for adjusting and varying theelevation of the discharge end of a single conveyor of a shuttle car.

A still further object is to provide load retaining side boards for thevertically adjustable discharge end of the conveyor of a shuttle carwhich will lay within the over-all height'of the carwhile the car istraveling but will project a considerable distance above the side wallsduring the unloading thereof.

These and other'objects which will hereinafter be made apparent to thoseskilled in this particular art, are accomplished by means of thisinvention, whichis described in the following specification andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a'view in side elevation of a shuttl car made in accordancewith my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the shuttle car shown in Fig.1;

. Fig. 3 is a section taken on line IIIIII of Fig. 6;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line IV-IV of Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the front or discharge end of ashuttle car shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a view in side elevation of the for--\ ward or discharge endof the shuttle car showing, in broken lines, the adjustable section ofthe v conveyor in its raised position;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the forward end of a shuttle car illustrating amodified form of spill board for the adjustable discharge section of theconveyor;

Fig. 8 is a. view in side elevation of the discharge end of the shuttlecar shown in Fig. '1;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on line IX-IX of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the discharge endof the shuttle car shown in Fig. 7.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, I represents a shuttle car ofthe type commonly used to perform' the secondary haulage in undergroundmine chambers to transport the mineral being mined from the working areaof the mine to the primary haulage system. The car I travels onpneumatic tiredgwheels 2, the rear set of which are driven by suitableelectric motors 3, and the front set are connected for steering to asteering wheel 4 mounted on an operator's platform 5 which is located onone side of the car at the forward or, discharge end thereof.

Wheels 2 support a box-like load-carrying body having a floor 6 and sidewalls 1 extending upwardly from the floor on each side thereof which aresubstantially vertical at the forward or discharge end of the car. Atthe forward or discharge end of the car, the sidewalls I extend asubstantial'distance beyond the forward end of the floor 6, the purposeof which will be hereinafter more fully explained. Y

An endless conveyor, composed of chains 8 and flights 9, connectedbetween the chains at regular intervals along their lengths, passes overthe floor 6. At the rear end of the car I, the chains 8. pass aroundsuitable drive sprockets (not shown) carried by a. shaft "which isdriven by an electric motor |l mounted on the side of the car to drivethe conveyor which unloads or discharges the material from the car Atthe front or discharge end of the car, the chains 8 pass around suitablechain guide rollers |2 (Fig. one. shaft |3 carried by a verticallyadjustable conveyor section H which is pivoted between the extended endsof the side walls and forms a continuation of the floor I of the car.

In the exemplification of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6,inclusive, the conveyor section or frame I4 is of fabricatedconstruction and comprises a pair of side plates |5which are tiedtogether by vertically spaced upper and lower decks l6 and I1 forming,respectively, the supports for. the active and return reache of thechains 3.

Each of the side plates I5 has a slot H3 in the forward end thereof forreceiving the idler shaft I3 and to provide the desired tension at alltimes H in the chains 8, regardless of the vertical adjustment of theconveyor frame 14, a take-up mechanism I9 of usual construction isassociated with each end of the shaft l3 which permits the shaft to moveback and forth in the slots l8.

In order to mount the frame H on the car I, the rear end of the top deckplate I5 is conneoted to a tubular or cylindrical member which extendstransversely between, and has its ends secured to, the side plates IS.The member 20 is journaled on a cross shaft 2| mounted in bearings 22which are carried by the side walls I of the car and are locatedsomewhat above the general level of the floor 6 at the front or forwardend thereof so that an uninterrupted floor will be provided throughoutthe entire length of the car and the conveyor frame l4. The forward endof the floor 6 is sloped upwardly as at 23 and the front edge thereofrests on the rear end of the top deck I6.

In order that the frame I41 may be readily and easily adjusted to varythe height of the discharge end thereof and thus permit the car tounload directly onto a belt conveyor or into a train of mine cars orother transporting media of varying heights, the rear, end of the bottomdeck H has an integral flange 24 depending therefrom which is pivotallyconnected, adjacent each side plate l5, to the piston rod 25 of anormally extended hydraulic jack 26, hinged to a transversely extendingframe member 21 of the car I.

From this construction it is apparent that when the jacks 26 arecollapsed, the piston rod 25 and the flange 24 connected thereto will bemoved toward the frame member 21 causing the frame l4 to swing about theshaft 20 to raise the discharge end thereof and by controlling theadmission of actuating fluid to the jacks 23, the discharge end of theframe H can beadjusted to any desired height within the limits of thevertical movement of the frame.

Conversely when the jacks 26 are expanded, the frame l4 will be swung inthe opposite direction and the discharge end thereof will be lowereduntil the bottom of the frame comes in.

contact with a transverse frame member 28 which connects the end of theside walls I and limits the downward movement of the frame.

Compression springs 29 are interposed between the bottom of the frame l4and a cross frame member 30 of the car to cushion the descent of theframe I4 toward the cross member 28.

In order to prevent spillage of materialrfr om the car during unloadingthereof, a plate 3| is secured by welding, or any other suitable manner,to the inner and upper edge of each of the side plates l5 forsubstantially the full length thereof. The plates 3| are relativelynarrow at their outer ends and taper upwardly toward the rear-end of theframe to a height slightly lower than the top of the side walls I.

A side board 32 rests on each of the side plates I5 of the conveyorframe l4 and is slidably, at its forward end, connected to the adjacentplate 3| by a pin 33 slidable in a slot 34 in the plate 3|. Spill-ageboards 32 are so designed that when the frame I4 is in its lowermostposition, the

tops thereof lay insubstantially th sam plane as, and form acontinuation of, the tops of the side walls I. The rear ends of thespillage boards 32 are pivoted at 35 to the inner surface of the sidewalls 1 at a point considerably to the rear of shaft 2| and somewhat tothe rear of the point where the floor 6 commences to slope upwardly tojoin with the top deck l6 of the conveyor frame. The outer ends 36 ofthe spillage boards 32 are flared outwardly as clearly shown in Figs. 2,3. and 5.

From vthe foregoing description, it is apparent that when the frame I4is raised, the side plates l5 will carry upwardly the spillage boards 32resting thereon. As the frame is elevated, the boards 32 move forwardlyrelative to the side plates 3| through the pin and slot connection33-34. Thus the plates I5, 3| and 32 form a continuous side wall for theconveyor frame l4 and since the spill boards 32, are pivoted to the sidewalls 1 rearwardly of the point where floor 6 starts to slope upwardly,the side walls of the conveyor frame are of substantially constantheight above the conveyor chains 8, regardless of the position of thedischarge end thereof and since the top of the side boards 32 lay in thesame plane as side walls 1, a continuous side wall of uniform height ismaintained throughout the entire length of the body and swingingconveyor section 4 which permits the material to be moved forward in thecar as a column or unit without danger of spilling over the sidesregardless of the elevation of the conveyor frame l4.

Figs. 7 to 10, inclusive, illustrate another exempliflcation of myinvention in which a spillage board of different design is provided andother means are employed for raising and lowering the conveyor frame. Inthis modification, the upper edge |5a of side walls l5 of the conveyorframe |4' slope upwardly from the forward end thereof and terminates inan edge |5b which lies in substantially the same horizontal plane as thetop of the side wall I of the ca The rear end of each of the side platesI5 has a curved edge |5c adapted to abut against a similarly curved edge4|! on the forward end of the side wall 1 and a relatively narrowsection |5d which projects rearwardly beyond the bottom of the curvededge I and is received in an angular slot 4| cut in the forward end ofthe wall I.

The sections lid of the side plates nected together by a tubular member20' which is joumaled on a shaft 2| extendingtransversehr of the car andhaving its ends mounted in plates 42 secured to the outer surface of theside walls I and extending some distance forwardly of the curved edge 40thereof.

The upper edge le of the section l5d of each of the side plates I5 liesin substantially a horizontal plane, when the frame is in its loweredposition, and the angular space between this edge and the edge 4la ofthe slot 4| define the angle through which the frame may be swung.Connected to the outer end of each of the side plates I5, by a pin andslot connection 33'84', is a spill board 32', the rear end of which ispivoted at 35' to the side wall I at a point rearwardly of the shaft 2|above the point where the floor 6 starts to slope upwardly.

When the frame I4 is in its lowermost position, the upper edge 32a ofthe spill board 32' lies in a plane somewhat below but parallel to theupper' edge of the plate I. The lower' edge 32b of the spill board 32'tapers downwardly from the pivot 35 to its outer end parallel to theedge |5a thereof.

In order to swing the conveyor frame l4 about the shaft 2| and raise andlower the discharge end thereof, a hydraulic jack 26' is hinged to achannel frame member 43 extending transversely of the car which has itspiston connected by a piston rod 25' to one leg of a bell crank lever 44pivoted on a pin 45 journaled in a bracket 45a which is supported by theframe of the car. The other leg of the bell crank 44 is bifurcated andeach leg isprovided with a roller 46 which bears against a track 41secured to the bottom of.

the conveyor frame l4,

From this construction, it is apparent that when the jack 26' isexpanded, the piston rod 25' is moved outwardly turning the bell crank44 about the pin 45 and raising the rollers 46 and the conveyor frame l4supported thereon. As the conveyor frame moves upwardly, the edge |5c ofthe side plates l5 travel along the curved edge 40 on the side wall 1until the edge l5e comes in contact with the angularly extending edge4la of the notch 4| which limits further upward movement ofthe conveyorframe l4.

It is also apparent from the foregoing description that as the conveyorframe i4 moves upwardly, the spill boards 32' are carried upwardly andsince the pivot 35' is to'the rear of the point where the floor 6 startsto slope upwardly, the height of the spill boards remains substantiallythe same regardless of the vertical position of the conveyor frame 14',and spillage of the material being unloaded is, therefore, prevented.

While two illustrated embodiments of my'invention have been described,it is not my intention to limit the scope of the invention to anyparticular embodiment or otherwise than .by the terms of the appendedclaims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shuttle car, the combination comprising a load-carrying bodyhaving a floor and a side wall on each side thereof, a frame pivotedbetween the side walls of said body for turning movement about ahorizontal axis and projecting beyond the ends of said side walls, saidframe having a floor forming a continuation of the floor of said bodyand a relatively low side member on each side thereof, an endlessconveyor passing over the floors of said body and frame, means forturning said frame about its pivot and a side board resting on the topof each side memher of said frame and having at its forward end a slipconnection therewith, the rear end of each' side board being pivoted tothe side wall of said body rearwardly of the frame pivot whereby theheight of the side walls of said body throughout the length of saidframe is maintained throughout the entire range of vertical movement ofsaid frame.

2. In a shuttle car, the combination comprising a load-carrying bodyhaving a floor and a side wall along each side thereof, a frame pivotedbetween the side walls of said body above the top of said floor, saidframe having a floor and a side member on each side thereof, the floorof said body extending upwardly adjacent said frame and resting on thefloor of said frame, an endless conveyor passing over the floors of saidbody and frame, a side board resting on each of the side members of saidframe and havingits forward end loosely connected thereto, the rear .endof each of said side boards being pivoted to the side walls of said bodyrearwardly of the frame pivot and having its upper edge normally lyingin substantially the same plane as the upper edge of the side wall towhich it is attached and means for raising and lowering said frame, theconnection between said side boards and the side members of said framepermitting said side boards to move longitudinally relative to the saidside members as said frame is raised and lowered.

3. In a shuttle car, the combination comprising a body having a floorand a side wall along each side thereof and projecting therebeyond atone end of said body, a frame pivoted between the projecting ends ofsaid side walls for tuming movement about a horizontal axis, said framehaving a floor forming a continuation of the floor of said body and amember along each side thereof, a spill board pivoted to each of saidside walls adjacent the upper edge thereof and of, said side wallsextending beyond the floor at one end of said vehicle, a frame pivotallymounted between the extended ends of said sid walls for swinging in avertical plane, said frame projecting beyond the ends of said side wallsand having a floor forming a continuation of the floor of said body andside members adjacent the side walls of said body, an endless conveyorpassing over the floors of said body and frame, and a pair ofloadretaining side boards, one for each of the side members of saidframe, slidably connected at their forward ends to said side members andhaving their rear ends pivoted to the side walls of said body rearwardlyof the frame pivot, and means for raising and lowering said frame.

5. In a vehicle of the character described, the combination comprising aload-carrying body having a floor and a side wall along each sidethereof, a frame pivoted between said side walls at a point somewhatabove the level of saidfloor for turning about a horizontal axis, saidframe having a floor and a side member along each side thereof, the endof the floor of said body being sloped upwardly and overlapping andresting on the floor of said frame, and load retaining side boards, onefor each of the side members of said frame, loosely connected at theirforward ends to said side members to permit longitudinal slidingmovement therebetween and having their opposite ends pivoted to the sidewalls of said body at a point substantially in vertical alignment withthe place where the floor of said body starts to ext-cnd upwardly.

6. In a. shuttle car, the combination comprising a load-carrying bodyhaving a floor and a side wall alongeach side thereof, a frame betweenthe side walls of said body and pivoted thereto for vertically swingingmovement, said frame having a floor forming a continuation of the floorof said body and a side member along each side thereof, means forswinging said frame and means for retaining material on said frame,including a side board for each of the side members of said frame havingits lower edge resting on and slidably connected to the forward end ofsaid side member and its upper edge lying in substantially the sameplane as the top of said body when said frame is in its lowermostposition, th rear end of each of said side boards being pivoted to theside wall adjacent thereto rearwardly of the frame pivot.

7. In a shuttle car, the combination'comprising a load-carrying bodyhaving a floor and a side wall along each side thereof, a frameextending between said side walls and pivoted thereto for verticallyswinging movement, said frame having a floor forming a continuation ofthe .floor of said body and side members along the side thereof, theinner ends of which are adjacent said side walls, means for raising andlowering said frame and load retaining means associated with each ofsaid side members adapted to lie in the plane of the side walls whensaid frame is in its lowermost position and to rise above said sidewalls and form an upwardly extending continuation thereof when saidframe is raised.

, 8. In a shuttle car, the combination comprising a load-carrying bodyhaving a floor and side walls along each side thereof, a frame pivotallymounted between said side walls at one end of said body for swingingmovement in a vertical plane, said frame having a floor forming acontinuation of the floor of said body and side members along the sidesthereof adjacent the side walls of the body, an endless conveyor passingover the floors of said body and frame, load retaining means associatedwith each of the said side members adapted to lie in the plane of theside walls when said frame is in its lowermost position and to raiseabove said side walls and form an upwardly extending continuationthereof when said frame is raised, and means for raising and loweringsaid frame including a bell crank pivoted underneath said frame, andmeans for turning said bell crank to swing said fram about its pivot.

9. In a shuttle car of the character set forth in claim 8, thecombination in which side members of the frame project into angularslots in the side walls and have curved rear ends adapted to abutsimilarly curved edges on the forward ends of the side walls.

10. In a shuttle car the combination of the character set forth in claim8, in which a bell crank is pivoted underneath the frame and has one legin engagement with the underside thereof and the other leg connected toasuitable actuating means for swinging said bell crank about its pivotto raise and lower said frame.

11. In a shuttle car the combination of the character set forth in claim8 in which the frame is pivotally mounted on side plates secured to theouter surfaces of the side walls of the body and the side members of theframe project into angular slots in the sidewalls and have curved rearends abutting against similarly curved edges on the forward ends of theside walls.

J OHN D. RUSSELL.

